Ministers ‘must slash red tape to ease crippling HRT shortages’
MINISTERS must cut red tape to ease HRT shortages, say campaigners.
They want looser prescribing rules to allow product swaps and make the same drugs available everywhere in England.
Manufacturers and health chiefs held talks yesterday as our Fabulous Menopause Matters campaign pushes for supply issues to be fixed.
Professor Claire Anderson, of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “One quick fix would be to enable pharmacists to make minor changes to a prescription when an item is out of stock.
"At present, women have to go back to their GP.”
Richard Torbett, at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, added: “Removing restrictions on prescribing of products in local areas could prevent variation and mean medicines are less likely to run out.”
READ MORE ON HRT
Fabulous Menopause Matters
An estimated one in five of the UK’s population are currently experiencing it.
Yet the menopause is still whispered in hush tones like it’s something to be embarrassed about.
The stigma attached to the transition means women have been suffering in silence for centuries.
The Sun are determined to change that, launching the Fabulous Menopause Matters campaign to give the taboo a long-awaited kick, and get women the support they need.
The campaign has three aims:
- To make HRT free in England
- To get every workplace to have a menopause policy to provide support
- To bust taboos around the menopause
The campaign has been backed by a host of influential figures including Baroness Karren Brady CBE, celebrities Lisa Snowdon, Jane Moore, Michelle Heaton, Zoe Hardman, Saira Khan, Trisha Goddard, as well as Dr Louise Newson, Carolyn Harris MP, Jess Phillips MP, Caroline Nokes MP and Rachel Maclean MP.
Exclusive research commissioned by Fabulous, which surveyed 2,000 British women aged 45-65 who are going through or have been through the menopause, found that 49% of women suffered feelings of depression, while 7% felt suicidal while going through the menopause.
50% of respondents said there is not enough support out there for menopausal women, which is simply not good enough. It’s time to change that.
